Public signal.



M. S. GIBSON.

PUBLIC SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25, 1910.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1 a? m 6 (mm 'IIIIIIIIII/fl Qttomw COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CG-JVASHINGTON. n c.

M. S. GIBSON.

PUBLIC SIGNAL APPLIOATION rum) JAN. 25, 1910.

Patented Feb. 13,1912.

agar];

[Kari/Sf 61355010.

M. S. GIBSON.

. PUBLIC SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. as, 1910.

1,017,531, Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

s SHEBTS -SHEET a.

GROCEQI was. (MSW COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH conwasnmu'rcN, u. c.

MARK S. GIBSON, OF GIRARD, PENNSYLVANIA.

PUBLIC SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1912.

Application filed January 25, 1910. Serial No. 540,053.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARK S. GIBSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Girard, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Public Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in signs and more particularly to the type known as changeable signs.

One object of the invention is the provision of a device to be set adjacent to a road or remote from a house and containing a plurality of sign boards said sign boards being marked to indicate the various tradesmen when they are called by the occupants of the house.

Another object is the provision of a construction whereby the marked surface or reading face of any one or all of the signs may be presented to view.

A further object is the provision of an operating means provided with an indicator to inform the operator within the house the exact sign or signs which appear to View in the holder located at the road.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully hereinafter appear, the present invention consists in certain novel details of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the device may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of the specification, Figure l is a front elevation of the sign and showing the wall of a house in section and the operating mechanism in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a sectional face elevation on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragment of one end of the frame and also showing the housing in section and the operating mechanism for the signs in front elevation. Fig. 5 is a detail front elevation of the keeper and tripper and showing a fragment of the chain to which the tripper is secured and also a fragmentary section of the outer side of the housing. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the keeper. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4c, and showing the tripper in the act of moving one of the signs. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective of the tripper. Fig. 9 is a sectional end elevation of one of the sign shafts and also showing a fragment of the disk and a fragment of the keeper secured in the disk socket. Fig. 10 is a plan view of the indicator mechanism. Fig. 11 is a sectional end elevation on the line 1111 of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a fragmentary side elevation of the upper portion of the indicator. Fig. 13 is a detail perspective of one of the indicator signs. Fig. 14: is a similar View of the pawl for securing the operating lever and also for actuating the indicator signs.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout.

As shown in Fig. l, the signs are located at a distance from the operating lever, the latter being secured to the interior of ahouse and connection between the lever and signs beliglig established by means of a cord or ea c.

A supporting standard is designated by the numeral 5 and is located adjacent the road and terminates atits upper end in a platform 6. What will subsequently be termed a supporting frame includes in its construction a pair of side sills 7 and 8 the opposite ends of which are connected by the top and bottom bases designated respectively by the numerals 9 and 10. The frame is provided at one end with a housing which includes a side wall 11 corresponding in length and Width to the side sill 8 of the frame to which it is fixedly secured, and an opposite side Wall 12 corresponding in length and width to the side wall 11. The opposite ends of the side walls 11 and 12 are connected by the ends 13 and 14 and the front and rear sides of the ends-are secured to the opposite ends of the front and rear walls 15 and 16 of the housing. J ournaled in the opposite side sills 7 and 8 of the frame are a plurality of shafts 17. These members are arranged in a vertical plane and are spaced apart for any desired distance. Fixedly secured to the shafts and arranged between the side sills 7 and 8 are a plurality of oblong sign boards 18, connection between the shafts and sign boards being established by means of U-shaped staples or clevises 19 to embrace the shafts 17 and have their ophouse and the opposite end of which is proposite ends fixedly secured in the sign boards. The sign boards may be provided with any suitable indicia, as shown in Fig. 1 and the ends of the shafts 17 which are journaled in the side sills 8 of the frame extend through the side wall 7 of the housing and well into the latter, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 7.

Keyed or otherwise secured to the ends of the shafts within the housing are a plurality of disks 20. Since these disks are all. identical in structure a description of one will be suflicient. A

By reference now to Fig. 3 it will be seen that extending radially from the periphery of the disk 20 is an arm 21 the free end of which is provided with a metallic sphere 22. By virtue of this provision, it will be evident, when it is understood that the weight of the sphere is considerably greater than the sign board, that the tendency of the point at which the arm 21 is placed will be to extend vertically downward; and when the sign board is so secured to the shaft that when its marked surface is presented to view the arm 21 will extend substantially vertically upward it is evident that when the disk is released that the arm 21 will gravitate whereby the marked surface of the sign will be presented upward or toward the top of the frame and out of View. Extending radially from the periphery of the disk 20 and at a point substantially diametrically opposite to the arm 21 are a pair of spaced jaws 23 and 24 which are adapted to be connected by the means for turning the shafts and sign boards and which will be presently described.

By reference now to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, and also to Fig. 7, it will be seen that secured to the lower end 13 of the housing is a boxing 25 and ournaled in this boxing 25 is a shaft 26. Secured to the shaft 26 is a grooved sheave 27 a portion of the periphery of which extends to a vertical opening formed in the lower end 13 of the housing. The axis of the sheave is parallel with the axes of the shafts 17 and the vertical plane on the pulley extends between the shafts 17 and outer side wall 12 on the housing. Journaled in the front and rear walls 15 and 16 of the housing and adjacent the top 14 thereof are a pair of shafts 2S and 29 to which are keyed a pair of grooved sheaves 30 and 31. The sheave 30 is ar ranged adjacent to the outer side wall 12 of the housing and is in a vertical plane with the sheave 27 or substantially so while the opposite sheave 30 is arranged adjacent the inner side wall 11 of the housing and beyond the planes of the disks 20 and spheres 22. Trained over the sheaves 27, 30 and 31 is a cable 32 the lower end of which is attached to a cord or cable 33 which extends to the vided with a weight 34.

Fixedly secured to a cable 32 is what will subsequently be termed a tripper designated in general by the numeral 35. This member comprises a sleeve portion 36 which receives the cable 32 and is fixedly secured thereto, and extending laterally from one side wall of the sleeve is a short arm 38 in a plane with the upper edge of the sleeve and which terminates in an arm 39 arranged at right angles to the arm 38, the said arm 39 terminating in a bevel nose 40. Fixedly secured to that end of. the sleeve to which the arms 38 and 39 are secured and at a point adjacent the lower edge of the sleeve is a plate 41 which extends in advance of the sleeve and issomewhat less in length than the arm 39. The plate 41 is perfectly straight and by virtue of its disposition will be in a different plane and out of alinement with the arm 39. In positioning the tripper on the cable 32 and when it is remembered that the said cable by virtue of the disposition of the sheaves 27 and 30 is located to one side of the disks 20, the plate 41 will extend in a plane parallel with the axes of the shafts 17 and well into the arc of movement of the jaws 23 and 24 of the disks 20. lVit-h this construction it is evident when the parts are in position, as shown in Fig. 3 that is to say, when the middle disk is turned so that its arm. 21 will extend obliquely downward, the jaws 23 and 24 will extend obliquely upward from opposite points of the disk and when the parts are so positioned and assuming that the plate 41 is moved to a point above ,,the middle disk and then moved downwardly by pulling the cable 32 it will engage with the jaw 24 and as downward movement of the chain is continued, the disk will be turned until the jaw 24 is moved out of the vertical plane of movement of the plate 41. It is evident when the plate 41 is moved downwardly and from engagement with the jaw 24 that some means must be provided for maintaining the disk in this position in order to prevent the marked surface of the sign board from moving and in order to accomplish this result the following construction is employed :By reference now to Figs. 3, 4 and 7, it will be seen that extending inwardly from the side wall 12 of the housing are a plurality of short shafts 42. These shafts are spaced for equal distances and correspond in number to the number of shafts 17. The vertically spaced shafts 42 are located slightly above the planes of the shafts 17 and have journaled thereon a plurality of keepers designated in general by the numeral 43. Since these keepers are all identical in structure, a description of one will be suiiicient.

By reference now to Fig. 6, it will be seen that each keeper arm is of rightangular shaped structure having sides of unequal lengths the longer side 43 terminating in the shorter side 44, the lower face of which is provided with a beveled lug 45. The keeper arms are so positioned that the longer sides 43 will extend transverse the housing while the shorter sides 44 will bear on the peripheries of the disks 20. Depending from one side portion of the longer side 43 of each keeper is a resilient trip arm 46. The trip arm 46 extends outwardly and downwardly from the side 43 and is in the path of the lug 40 at the terminal of the longer arm 39 of the tripper. WVith this construction it is evident that when the tripper moves upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3, the lug 40 will engage with the extremity of the arm 46 whereby the free end of the shorter side 44 of the keeper arm will be moved upwardly and out of engagement with the periphery of the disk 20. By reference now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that each of the disks 20 is peripher ally provided between the arm 21 and jaw 24 and at the point adjacent the arm 21 with a squared notch 47 of a size to nicely receive the nuts 45 formed on the lower face of the side 44 of the keeper. It might here be stated that this construction is analogous to that employed with the ordinary spring shade roller, that is to say, that the notch 47 of the disk must be brought gradually into alinement with the nose 45 of the keeper in order to permit the said nose to enter the notch. This will be seen when the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 3 and the tripper moves downwardly whereby the plate 41 is brought into engagement with the jaw 24 and the disk rotates that the nose 45 will, provided the keeper is moved slowly, move into the notch 47 at the moment the plate 41 moves from engagement with the jaw 24. This, however, will notbe the case when the tripper is moved quickly downward from the position shown in Fig. 3, since it will be evident when the disk is rotated at a considerable speed and the plate 41 moves abruptly into engagement with the jaw 24 that the disk will accidentally turn in the opposite direction before the nose 45 has an opportunity to seat in the notch 47.

Having now described the construction and part of the portion of the sign proper, a description of the actuating mechanism for the cable and sign will be given :-The numeral 47 in Fig. 1 designates the wall of a house and is shown provided with a transverse opening 48 and arranged between the wall 47 and sign frame are a plurality of supports 49 and 50. These supports are provided with sheaves 51 having trained thereon the cord or cable 33, the inner end of which extends through the opening 48 in the wall 47. Fixedly secured to the inner face of the wall 47 and adjacent the opening 48 is an indicator mechanism. The indicator includes in its construction a rack 52, the said rack 52 comprising a hollow, arcuate-shaped casing, the convex surface of which is presented upwardly and provided with an elongated slot 53. Secured to the opposite side walls of the rack is a shaft- 54 upon which is fulcrumed the lower end of an operating lever 55, the upper end of said lever extending through the elongated slot 53. The convex surface forming one side of the slot 53 is provided with a plu rality of spaced notches 56 and the lever is provided on that side adjacent the notches and at a point above the convex surface of the rack with a pawl 57. The forward side of the lever is, at its upper end likewise provided with a pivotal handle 58 and connection between the handle and free end of the pawl is established by means of a link The pawl overlies the notches 56 and it is evident that when the handle 58 is released that the pawl will gravitate and enter the notch it alines with. The free end of the pawl is provided with a lateral extension 60 best shown in Fig. 14 and which extends beyond the plane of the rack so that when the pawl 'is in engagement with one of the notches as before stated the outer side of the pawl will be in advance of the adjacent side of the rack.

Journaled in that side of the rack over which the outer side of the pawl extends and in alinement with the notches 56 are a plurality of shafts 61. The shafts 61 extend considerably in advance of the side of the rack and extend through a plurality of signs 62, the markings on which correspond with the signs in the frame above described. The inner ends of the signs 62 have secured thereto substantially U-shaped members 63, the terminals of which extend upwardly and slightly above the convex surface of the rack. By reference now to Figs. 1, l0 and 11, it will be seen that the notches 56 are formed in pairs and the terminals of the U-shaped members 63 are spaced apart for a distance corresponding to the distance be tween the notches. Thus, it will be seen when the parts are in position, as shown in Fig. 1, and the lever moved to the upper notch of each pair and the pawl permitted to descend into the said notch, the said pawl will move into engagement with one of the limbs of the U-shaped member whereby the sign will be turned so that its blank face will be presented upwardly. When, how ever, the lever is moved downwardly to the lower notch and the pawl enters the said notch it will bear on the opposite limb of the U-shaped member 63 whereby the sign will be turned so that its marked surface will be presented upwardly.

The construction of the parts thus far described is such that when the lever is moved to the uppermost notch on the rack 52, the tripper will have raised the uppermost keeper whereby the marked face of the uppermost sign will be presented downwardly and it might here further be stated that when the parts are in this position that the marked surfaces of the remaining sides will be presented downward. So also will the marked surfaces of the signs 62 carried by the rack be moved from view. By now moving the lever downwardly to the second notch of the uppermost pair the tripper will have moved sufficiently far to move the uppermost sign in the frame so that its marked surface will be presented to view and when this operation has been performed in comparatively slow manner, the uppermost pawl will enter the notch 47 of the disk whereby the uppermost sign will be prevented against movement at the same time the pawl 57 will have depressed the upper most indicator sign, which will show the marking in the uppermost sign in the frame. Assuming now that the parts are in the positions just described and it is desired to turn the lowermost sign only, the first movement will be to permit the operating lever to move upwardly to the first notch whereby the tripper 35 will likewise move upwardly and move the pawl into engagement with the uppermost disk whereby the marked surface of the uppermost sign in the frame will disappear from view. By now imparting a quick movement to the lever in a downward direction so as to bring the pawl into alinement with the lowermost notch, the tripper will move quickly past the disks of the signs located above the lowermost signs but the keepers of these signs will not be brought into engagement with the disks as before described. hen the lever is brought into alinement with the uppermost notch of the lower pair and moved slowly downward, the lowermost keeper will move into engagement with the notch on the lower most disk whereby the lowermost sign will be displayed. From the foregoing it can be seen that by operating the lever in the manner before described, that one or more signs may be presented to view or, if desired, the entire number of signs may be presented.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a sign structure, a movable sign member provided at opposite ends with trunnions, a disk fixed upon one of said trunnions and provided with a notch in the periphery thereof, an arm provided adjacent the disk and provided on its outer end with a lug adapted to lockingly engage within the said notch, means for moving the sign member to inoperative position upon the releasing of the locking arm, actuating means for said locking arm, movable sign indicating means, and means connecting the said actuating means to the sign indicating means.

2. In a sign structure, a movable sign member provided at opposite ends with trunnions, a disk fixed upon one of said trunnions and provided with a notch, said disk having a jaw projecting therefrom, an arm pivoted adjacent the disk and provided on its outer end with a lug adapted to lockingly engage within the said notch, means for moving the sign to inoperative position upon the releasing of the locking arm from said notch, and movable means cooperating with the said aw and arm to setand release the movable sign member.

3. In a sign structure, a movable sign member provided at opposite ends with trunnions, a disk fixed upon the said trunnions and provided with a notch, said disk having a jaw projecting therefrom, an arm pivoted adjacent the disk and provided on its outer end with a lug adapted to engage within the said notch, a trip arm projecting from said arm adjacent the pivot and provided on its outer end with a lug, a movable member adapted upon movement in one direction to engage the lug of the trip arm to release said lug from the disk notch, and movable in the opposite direct-ion for engagement with the said jaw to move the sign member to set position, means for moving the sign to inoperative position upon the releasing of the locking lug, actuating means for said movable member.

4. In a sign structure, a movable sign member, movable sign locking means, means for moving the sign to inoperative position upon release of said locking means, a vertically movable element, devices carried by said element adapted to cooperate with the locking means and the movable sign member to release and set said member, and actuating means for said vertical movable element.

5. In a sign structure, a movable sign member provided at opposite ends with trunnions, a disk fixed upon one of said trunnions and provided with a notch, said disk having a jaw projecting therefrom, an arm pivoted adjacent the disk and provided on its outer end with a lug adapted to lockingly engage within said notch, a trip arm projecting from said arm, means for moving the sign to inoperative position upon the releasing of the lug from said notch, a vertically movable element, devices carried by said element and cooperating with the said trip arm and the said aw respectively to release and set the movable sign member, and actuating means for said vertical element.

6. In a sign structure, a movable sign member provided at opposite ends with trunnions, a disk fixed upon one of said position upon the releasing of the locking means, a vertically movable flexible element having its upper end passed over a sheave and provided with a weight, devices carried by said flexible element and adapted to cooperate respectively with the trip arm to release the said arm and with the jaw to move the sign member to set position, and actuating means connected to the lower end of the flexible element.

7. In a sign structure, a plurality of movable sign members provided at opposite ends with trunnions, a disk fixed upon one of said trunnions of each sign member and provided with a notch, a jaw projecting from each of said disks, an arm pivoted adjacent each of the disks and provided with means for locking engagement with the said notch, a yielding trip arm projecting from said arm, means for moving the sign to inoperative position upon release of said locking means from said notch, avertically movable flexible element arranged between said disks and the pivots of the locking arms, devices carried by said flexible element and adapted respectively to cooperate with the yielding trip arm during its upward movement to release said looking arm and to engage with each of said jaws that project in the path of its downward movement to move the sign member to set position, and actuating means connected with said flexible element.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signav Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0. 

